Horse owners in western Quebec relieved as 3 Ontario vets step up to help during shortage

Crouched on the floor of a stable in Wakefield, Que., 35 kilometres north of Ottawa, Dr. Valerie Higginson set up a portable X-ray machine, attempting to pinpoint the source of a horse's lameness.

"He seems really sweet," said Higginson as she ran her hands over the back of the 11-year-old off-track Thoroughbred.

Leading him into the riding arena, past two small barn cats, Isabelle Ratkaj, the barn manager who looks after some 50 horses on her grandfather's property at Knight Stables, clicked her tongue and the horse cantered in a circle around her.

"We're flexing different joints in the leg. We're trying to isolate where the lameness is coming from," said Higginson.

"It's just one tool in our toolbox to diagnose lameness."

A veterinarian with Navan Veterinary Services, Higginson is one of three Ontario vets travelling up to 100 kilometres into the Outaouais region of Quebec to serve clients with large animals.

"It was toward the end of the summer that we started to come over and we've been coming pretty much weekly since then," said Higginson.

"I heard about the struggle that some of our clients had before we came over and just thought it was really important to address that need."

Over the past few years, she says horse and large-animal clients have been having a particularly hard time because of a widespread veterinarian shortage in western Quebec — with some owners even taking their horses by trailer into Ontario for appointments.

"Even just their regular kind of vaccines and maintenance care, they hadn't been able to have in at least over a year," said Higginson.

"I think people feel a bit more comforted that they've got some support when they have emergencies come up."

Ratkaj says having someone to call —  even if they're in a different province — makes all the difference.

"It's really hard. You feel like you have nobody to turn to because the vets just are so busy," said Ratkaj.

"You kind of feel guilty too as a horse owner that you're not giving the best care to your horse," she said. "You're kind of struggling: do I have to give this medication or can I call somebody for advice?"